Shakti - Power and Femininity in Indian Art

Long
ago, there reigned a mighty king named
Ila. Once while hunting, he came upon
a grove where Shiva was making love
with Parvati, and surprise of surprises,
Shiva had taken the form of a woman
to please her. Everything in the woods,
even the trees had become female, and
as he approached even King Ila himself
was transformed into a woman! Shiva
laughed out aloud and told him to ask
for any boon except that of masculinity.

Thus says the Shaktisangama
Tantra:

Woman is the creator
of the universe,
the universe is her form;
woman is the foundation of the world,
she is the true form of the body.

In woman is the
form of all things,
of all that lives and moves in the world.
There is no jewel rarer than woman,
no condition superior to that of a woman.

No wonder even the
most powerful of gods, like Shiva above,
crave to enter the feminine form, hoping
to acquire at least some of her glorious
power.

According to the
Devi-Mahatmya:

By you this universe
is borne,
By you this world is created,
O Devi, by you it is protected.

The earliest term
applied to the divine feminine, which
still retains its popular usage, is
Shakti. The word Shakti is used in a
bewildering variety of ways ranging
from its use as a way of signifying
the ultimate primordial creative power,
to expressing the capacity or power
of words to convey meaning. Etymologically
it is derived from the root 'shak,'
meaning potency or the potential to
produce, an assertion of Her inherent
creative aptitude.

All interpretations
of the word 'shakti' hold common one
parameter, namely power. Specifically,
Shakti means power, force and feminine
energy. She represents the fundamental
creative instinct underlying the cosmos,
and is the energizing force of all divinity,
of every being and every thing. Devotees
believe the whole universe to be a manifestation
of Shakti, who is also known by her
general name Devi, from the Sanskrit
root 'div' which means to shine.

This feminine power
has been given expression in a multitude
of female figures as also in abstract
representations, both in sculpture and
painting.

Primarily, Shakti
is depicted in art as one of the following
icons:

1). The Yoni (Female
Generative Organ)
2). An Independent Goddess
3). The Goddess and God Together as
a Couple

The Yoni

In
a tragic turn of events, Sati, the wife
of Shiva ended her life by jumping into
flames. She had felt slighted at the
insufficient honor accorded to her husband
at a ritual sacrifice performed by her
father.

Shiva became inconsolable
following her death. He retrieved her
charred body from the fires, carried
her on his back, and wandered across
the three worlds performing a mad dance
of seething destruction.

Fearful that Shiva
in his insatiable yearning may destroy
the entire manifested existence, Vishnu
in his role as the preserver of the
world cut up Sati's body piece by piece
to relieve Shiva's burden. Her body
was divided into a total of fifty-one
fragments. At each of the fifty-one
spots where these pieces fell, a pilgrimage
center (Shakti-pitha) came into existence.

The most important
and significant of these sacred sites
remains the place where fell Sati's
organ of generation. This place is today
identified as Kamakhya in Assam, and
a temple was built on the hilltop to
mark the spot. It contains no image
of the goddess, but in the depths of
the shrine there is a yoni (vulva) shaped
cleft in the rock, adored as the one
belonging to Sati herself. A natural
spring within the cave keeps the cleft
moist. During July-August after the
first burst of the monsoon, a great
ceremony called Ambuvachi takes place.
At this time of the year, the water
runs red with iron oxide, and the ritual
drinking of this elixir is symbolic
of partaking the menstrual fluid of
the Devi.

In the branch of
Tantra known as Shaktism, the menstrual
taboo is broken down and the menstrual
fluid is regarded as sacred and becomes
the object of veneration. A menstruating
woman is placed in a special category
during ritual practice. Her energy at
this time is said to be different in
quality, and the rhythm that occurs
in her body appears to be related in
a mysterious way to the processes of
nature. In the chakra-puja of the left-hand
Tantriks, menstrual fluid may be taken
as a ritual drink along with wine, and
a special homage is paid to the yoni,
touching it with one's lips and anointing
it with sandalwood paste. During the
whole proceeding, the participant continues
to offer libation from a yoni-shaped
ritual vessel called the kusi.

Both
in physical appearance and metaphysically,
the yoni is akin to the lotus flower.
Both represent the perfection of beauty
and symmetry. The yoni is likened to
the lotus in the early stage of its
opening and also in its fully open form.
In addition, the lotus remains unaffected
by the surface of the water where it
rests, and its petals also are not soiled
by the mud they spring from. Similarly,
the yoni too remains perpetually pure
and is not soiled by any action. The
Tantric Buddhist Goddess Vajrayogini
promises her approval and blessings
to the man who worships her in this
way:

'Aho! I will bestow
supreme success
On one who ritually worships my lotus,
which is the bearer of all bliss.'

The yoni or female
generative organ is thus venerated for
its obvious properties of fertility
and growth. In addition it is believed
to be the seat of concentrated energy
(tejas) which gives rise to all creation.
In fact the English word for yoni, 'vulva,'
has a root meaning signifying a revolving
or circular motion, and indeed in occultism
the vulva is conceived of as a talismanic
vortex, a whirling life force that concentrates
a fiery essence.

The Independent Image of the Goddess

In
the Ramayana when Rama the virtuous
prince, set out to fight Ravana the
mighty demon, he first invoked the goddess
Durga. The villain was eventually killed
on the final day of the gruesome battle,
which lasted for ten days.

In a continuing,
unbroken tradition, this occasion is
still celebrated as Durga Puja. The
festivities span nine days, culminating
on the tenth day in one of the biggest
festivals of India, namely Vijaya Dashmi,
literally translated as the Tenth Day
of Victory. Significantly, in many parts
this is an occasion to celebrate military
might and a symbolic worship of weapons
is still common. What greater paean
can be sung to the power and glory of
the Goddess? It is the men who go out
to war, but before doing so they must
invoke Shakti, deified as the Goddess
Durga.

The word Durga is
made up of 'Dur,' which means difficult,
and 'ga,' meaning go against. Thus Durga
is the triumphant aspect of Shakti,
which brooks no opposition.

In her iconographic
representations too, Durga is invariably
shown adorned with weapons, poised for
battle.

In fact many of the
narrative depictions represent her battling
a hideous buffalo-demon, though, notwithstanding
the essentially gruesome composition,
the goddess herself is always shown
of a pleasant and charming countenance,
a picture of supreme beauty.

According to Shankaracharya:

Who art thou,
O Fairest One! Auspicious One!
You whose hands hold both: delight and
pain?
Both: the shade of death and the elixir
of immortality,
Are thy grace, O Mother!

The goddess embodies
within herself both the creative and
destructive principles which are but
one and the same. While Durga is the
most potent icon to express the aggressive
and destructive behavior of Shakti,
Lakshmi is the quintessential goddess
who proclaims her creative aspect. Without
exception Lakshmi is depicted in art
as full-breasted (symbolizing her powers
of nourishment), and wide-hipped (signifying
her fertile, child-bearing capabilities).

It is also for this
reason that she is almost always shown
in association with the lotus, which
forms one of her most important iconographic
attributes.

The image of the
individual goddess stresses that her
divine power is not dependent on her
relation to a husband-god, rather that
she bears her identity through her own
right and might. An apt epithet of Shakti
in this context is 'Svatantrya,' meaning
independence or freedom, signifying
that her existence does not depend on
anything extraneous to herself.

The Goddess and the God

In
many instances, the goddess is shown
coupled with the god, as wife and husband.
Like all goddess imagery this too has
metaphorical import. Consider for example
the most evocative of such depictions:
the great goddess Kali dancing over
the corpse of her husband Shiva.

This is a statement
of the superiority of feminine divinity,
and indeed Shiva, addressing the goddess
in an ancient text says: 'I, the Lord
of all, am a corpse without you,' and
Krishna confesses to Radha: 'Without
you I am lifeless.' The intention here
is not to portray the goddess as a slayer
of men but as the power (Shakti) of
Shiva, who without her is inert like
a corpse.

The Shiva corpse
may in fact be interpreted as representing
the Tantric adept performing one of
his yoga exercises, the 'shavasana,'
or posture of the corpse,' in which
the yogi lies on his back utterly relaxed
in mind and body. All his energies are
abandoned and symbolically externalized
in the figure of the Shakti dancing
above him. The purport being that detached
from his feminine side, the yogi is
incomplete and as good as dead. This
belief is expressed in the words: 'shivah
shakti vihinah shavah' 'Shiva deprived
of Shakti is a corpse (shava).' This
statement recurs in most of the Tantras
in one form or another.

To
regain his Shakti and return from his
trance like state, the power of the
goddess must repossess and complete
him. This metaphysical process of union
is depicted graphically through the
act of sexual intercourse. But it is
no regular act of making love. Here
it is the woman who rides the male.
In this inverted sexual position, the
female straddles the male and is the
prime mover and active power. This reverse
act of lovemaking is known in Sanskrit
as viparita-rati.

It signifies the
feminine urge to create unity from duality
and its constant aspiration to unite
with the male principle. This is emphasized
in the Gandharva Tantra where it is
written that 'She who is the sun, moon,
and fire, lays down the purusha (male)
and enjoys him from above.' She (Shakti)
is the active lover of a quiescent Shiva
and her union with him is critical for
him to be able to assert his divinity
and powers. The very first verse of
the Tantric text Saundaryalahari states:
'If Shiva is united with his Shakti
he is able to exert his powers as a
Lord; if not, the god has not even the
strength to move.' Indeed, she is the
potency that dwells in each of the male
gods and the spark that arouses them
to action.

In fact She is His
Power. If we accept the ancient Hindu
precept that divinity resides in each
individual, we realize that Shakti is
the inherent power that lies in each
of us. This is independent of the gender
of the individual in question.

Another popular image
which shows the goddess as Shakti united
with her god is the Shiva linga. This
is a composite icon which shows a yoni
and a linga (male generative organ),
conjoined together.

Though it is commonly
believed that the Shiva-linga shows
the male organ penetrating the female,
an actual physical appraisal points
to a contrary direction.

The yoni forms a
pedestal and the abstract geometrical
shape of the urdhvalinga (erect phallus)
rises out of the yoni (womb). The linga
does not enter the yoni (as is popularly
believed), rather it emerges from the
yoni. According to scholar Stella Kramrisch,
this fundamental relationship of linga
and yoni has been obscured by patriarchal
interpretations. Nevertheless, the ever-creative
yoni does assert itself, for the goddess
as Shakti is the essential creative
matrix, underlying all that which exists.

References and Further
Reading

Elgood,
Heather. Hinduism and the Religious
Arts: London, 1999.

Maxwell, T.S. The Gods of Asia (Image,
Text, and Meaning): New Delhi, 1997.

Tigunait, Pandit Rajmani. Sakti
The Power in Tantra: Pennsylvania,
1998.

Zimmer, Heinrich. Myths and Symbols
in Indian Art and Civilization: Delhi,
1990.

We hope you have enjoyed reading the article. Any comments or feedback that you may have will be greatly appreciated.Please send your feedback to feedback@exoticindiaart.com.

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Very, very good article and information.

by worship on 13th Apr 2009

Iam very excited to know more about the worship of shakti`s lotus to gain bliss and fullfillment. Hope you will write more about it and looking forward for your wonderfull knowledge you gave us. Thank you so much for giving us this secret knowledge.

This is the best information I had so far in Goddess Shakti worship.I hope you will write more on about the worship of her lotus and its benefits that we will get by doing it.Thank you so much for your very daring information.

by Kamana on 5th Jun 2008

You established a parallel between bride burning and the Western crime of husbands killing wives for insurance money, if this comparison is valid then we should to be able to establish a similar parallel for the case of western women killing their husbands for insurance money. So what are the Indian circumstances for a woman killing her husband. All in fun -- Doug

For a more general question who/what was Shaakti's father?

by doug on 12th Jan 2008

Excellent, excellent article. I am glad you straightened out the misinterpretation of the shivaling. My mother was appauled at what westerners believed it meant.

on a side note though - Adavita - as someone who has lived as much in the west as in india, and whose ancester commited sati and is STILL glorified because of it, you seem to be rather on the defensive. There is much HARD evidence that proves India is still very patriarchal and this cannot be continually blamed on western or islamic invasion. Yes, there are many successful females in India, yet there are many many more gender TARGETGED attrocities than in the western world against their own women. For a starting point, check the latest population statistics/ ratio of women:men in India. The west is also patriarchal, but it makes itself look good by comparing to India.

by Maya on 9th Apr 2007

This was a good article on Shakti. I believe a lot of Tantric sexuality that we read about crept into the main literature at a later stage. One needs to go for the main message. Rest does not matter.
Some people in this board are talking about Sati. Sati is illegal in India and is a rare occurrence. That is why when Roop Kanwar of Rajasthan committed Sati, it made her into a media celebrity. She has a cult following there.
I live in US and i have seen what free-sex and the so called &quot;love marriages&quot; have done to couples.
Arranged marriages in India in the past were supposed to be meeting of souls and go beyond just physical union. Anyone saying such union is loveless needs to have his/her head examined. Every second marriage in US is a failure. So, what is happening to these &quot;union of love&quot;? Why are they failing?
Sridhar

by rsridhar on 14th Jun 2003

Thank you for this, I didn't know any of it and I've enjoyed learning about it.

Could I ask about the pantheon though, as, like I said, I really am ignorant on the Hindu gods? Shiva, I'm assuming, is the Father God, akin to Jupiter or Odin; who would be his main consort, if there is such a goddess? Would this be Shakti, in feminine form, Herself?

Devotees believe the whole universe to be a manifestation of Shakti, who is also known by her general name Devi, from the Sanskrit root 'div' which means to shine.

:-o This has also got to be the root meaning of the word 'divine'! Cool! I love finding out things like this! :-o I've just sussed that Diva also has that root! The -a suffix in Celtic terms can mean 'priestess', though 'anna' or 'ana' more often means so.

In fact many of the narrative depictions represent her battling a hideous buffalo-demon, though, notwithstanding the essentially gruesome composition, the goddess herself is always shown of a pleasant and charming countenance, a picture of supreme beauty.

I thought that this was an interesting and more truthful representation of the Crone aspect. I wish Western sources were as honest about it. Here we need more to be led by the hand and mollycoddled into understanding the Crone, by the majority of our representations having her as an aged woman.

The image of the individual goddess stresses that her divine power is not dependent on her relation to a husband-god, rather that she bears her identity through her own right and might. An apt epithet of Shakti in this context is 'Svatantrya,' meaning independence or freedom, signifying that her existence does not depend on anything extraneous to herself.

So here She is the Virgin aspect, in its original meaning.

This is a statement of the superiority of feminine divinity, and indeed Shiva, addressing the goddess in an ancient text says: 'I, the Lord of all, am a corpse without you,' and Krishna confesses to Radha: 'Without you I am lifeless.' The intention here is not to portray the goddess as a slayer of men but as the power (Shakti) of Shiva, who without her is inert like a corpse.

Which is also reminiscent of Cerridwyn empowering Taliesin, in the Welsh mythology; and all the other stories where the God dies and is resurrected by the Goddess, in whatever form they are taking.

Though it is commonly believed that the Shiva-linga shows the male organ penetrating the female, an actual physical appraisal points to a contrary direction.

You know, I've never thought of it in this way - with the woman acting as the male's pedestal. I like that one!

by Mab on 4th Jun 2003

oh nearly forgot ian :&quot; tragic decriminalisation of sati in modern india&quot; huh?! what's your source for that particular howler your local evangelical gazette????
take some advice from the bible and worry about the beam in your own eye.

by advaita on 17th May 2003

i find the analysis and input of ian and aryan rather bemusing . the repeated assertion that sati is still practised in india largely stems from an archaic but still powerful and well attitude in the west that exoticises indic beliefs as irrational and immoral . i believe this to be the direct consequence of having been ,in their own belief, &quot;the chosen people of god&quot; in an earlier incarnation . that is to say all western tradition stems directly or indirectly from judeo-christianity or has been reshaped from an earlier pagan belief by these channels of civillizational flow. this is the reason you will find these beliefs about india still held inspite of direct proof ot the contrary . one instance of sati in fifty years is enough to mark hinduism while an absolute array of atrocities commited in even the last decade in the name of abrahamic religion leaves that belief system unscathed. no need to mention that sati is not a religious practice was never more than a fringe phenemenon-contrary to western potrayal and that it was an off shoot of jauhar where rajput women commited ritual suicide in fire when their men went out fight an unwinnable war against islamic invasions-to save themselves from kidnap and rape . simillarly the potrayal of hindu mythology and therefore hinduism as irrational eventhough these stories are esoteric allegories of theories argued elsewhere with rigorous rationality : hindu doctrine divides itself into sruti - literal truth, and smriti-allegorical data, classically and this is not a modern rationalisation of mythology as in abrahamic religions.so that all people can follow either bhakti yoga(the emotional approach which most uses these allegories),karma yoga (the approach using will)and jnana yoga (using intellect and experiential experiments)empirical proof in the form of tabulated experience . as opposed to abrahamic religion where prophets and messiahs exalt themselves to the central role in history, see &quot;visions&quot; and hear &quot;voices&quot; , judge all else and diminish the individual spiritual pursuit by making belief in their own ideas of themselves as central to the entire spiritual life of a person.
it is popular these days to refer to the
'rise of hindu nationalism&quot; so just in case my point is dismissed as mere diatribe let me assert that i'm not rallying against abrahamic religion when i say these things i am trying to lift the great deception that western theology and thought has perpetrated upon itself , hopefullyconfronted with my views the vestiges of what is essentially a white supremacist syndrome will reveal themselves to those who have deluded themselves. killing your spouse for insurance is still much more common in the west than dowry deaths in india, they are both essentially acts of murder in the pusuit of greed yet one culture is demeaned using these incidents and the other is correctly seen as seperate from them. the truth is india is no more or less sexist than the west : it contains every sort of male - female relationship from the respectful and loving to the dysfuntional.
unless this fatal flaw of distorted perception is corrected we will coninue to witness hilarious absurdities like ian's statement that most idian marraiges are loveless-which is contrary to what one would experience in the average indian household (it is merely the axiomatic assumption that any practise contrary to the western norm is doomed to fail ) matter of fact having lived in the west for 5 years now i know that there is just as strong role play in the sexes in the west as in india there are a greater number of independantly wealthy women , women legislators and politicians,women CEOs etc. etc. in india than in the west and to be honest i know more indian couples that are loving and respectful to each other than westerners although this could merely be my own personal experience.
when the west in the form of the british chanced upon india it had already been brutalised by islamic invasion for 700 years as had only just thrown off the shackles of islamic conquest- which infact was the reason the britsh were able to take india peice-meal due to the absence of a great coherent indegenous power so soon after the resurgence of hindu civillization thru the marathas, sikhs and jats. in any event india was certainly not in it's classical condition , the myth of the civillising mission of the west was merely used to legitemise an occupation that siphoned off an approximate 8.5 trillion pound sterling in the entire raj.
next time you see that advertisement asking for your money to save dancing bears in terrible conditions in some third world country (which lets face it terrible though their plight is comprise maybe a few hundred animals in the entire crescent from turkey to india) think about the absolute mountains of meat the west is devouring every hour.
i ask for balance in perspective and rationality. thank you.

by Adavita on 17th May 2003

The praises for the article are well-deserved since it is certainly accurate and well-written, yet I find it interesting to note that only &quot;Ian&quot; draws out the awe-full and horrible patriarchal implications for the satee widow-burning 'rituals'  still much practised in modern-day India. In my view it's HIGH TIME that all of us 'devotees' to the 'beauty' of Indian *artistic* achievement duly balance that with commentary on the horrific human violence and sacrifices that some (or much) of it involved.
The Taj Mahal is a huge, and truly awe-full example !!!

There is an interesting characteristic in Indian language which manifests itself in the stories of Shakti, Sati and Sita - that of transformation through the words used to describe a deity. Sita's self-immolation as a reproof to Rama for having questioned her chastity whilst in the court of Ravana at Lanka reflects Sati's self-immolation for shame of her father. Similarly, in the Chhinnamasta icon, the goddess's self-decapitation and immolation takes place as part of the ritual of trampling herself into submission as Shiva's Shakti.

by Ian on 23rd Apr 2003

I am really pleased to read your article on&quot;Shakti&quot; the realy power on the earth.I was doing pooja of shivlinga from so many years but i was not knowing the detailed story after it.I have really enjoyed your this article and your last week article on Lord Shiva.I really appreciate your efforts to made this article.

by Bindu Shah on 14th Apr 2003

I've written to you before, Nitin, and once again, I must write of my appreciation for this article! Not only is the article beautifully crafted, but the information held within it is captivating. I felt like I was at the feet of a master storyteller. Thank you, once again!

by Kathy Robles on 7th Apr 2003

I just wanted to offer praise and adulation for a wonderful March article on the various forms of Parvati and your incorporation of Tantric texts! It made for a highly informative and fascinating read. I also enjoy the hypertext links that you include for illustration of certain concepts, objects, etc. More importantly, because I am a burgeoning scholar studying the appropriation of Tantra in the U.S. I was quite pleased with the "further reading" section.

This was my first newsletter and I'm looking forward to the coming months. Please let me know how I can support your endeavors to enlighten and educate as I would hate to see this service end.

by Stephanie Williams on 24th Mar 2003

Even more relevant than Suttee to the dangers in promoting the story of Sati's self-immolation out of shame over her father's failings is the widespread and underprosecuted crime of bride-burning - often in revenge for unfulfilled dowry promises. Once again, the story of Sati is abused to victimise women for the failings of the paternalistic society within which they are economically and socially bound. 'In Goddess We Are Trussed' should be their motto.

by Ian on 21st Mar 2003

It is important that this article should also comment on the tragic recent decriminalisation of Suttee (Sati) in modern India. It is a flawed doctrine that pressures politically powerless and economically dependent widows to regard self-immolation as meritorious or to hope for some form of karmic manipulation from the ritual. No husband would think of doing anything of the kind for his dead wife. The vast majority of Hindu marriages remain relatively loveless arranged unions. Whilst the story of Siva and Sati is charming, the consequences of its emulation are ghastly. That this practice should be allowed any chance of cultural revival is to be deplored.

by Ian on 20th Mar 2003

The article on Shakti is one of the most readable and informative articles I have read. The in-depth coverage provided has to be applauded. Such a comprehensive article should be read by all those interested in Hindu heritage and culture.
My congratulations and thanks.

by Yatindra Bhatnagar, former Chief Editor
India Post, the Indian Voice. on 18th Mar 2003

Again the article capivated me and pulled me in. Not only did this article touch my heart and humble me, but it also is somthing that i have been looking for in reading for my hindu research. I am a female and have come to know the power with in. And reading this magnifisent article has given me the ok, and guidence and undserstanding to the power of shakti the female spriit. and i will take that knowlegde to reach other females that don't realize their beauty and balance that is female with in. That is Shakti.

by Red on 18th Mar 2003

I thank you for your most excellent article: 'Shakti: Power and Femininity in Indian Art'. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed it. Suffice to say that it was confirmative, supportive and true.

by Ms. Teresa Golden on 17th Mar 2003

This was a timely article and very apprieciated by myself.
Thank you for sending it to me!

by Elise on 17th Mar 2003

Your articles and their illustrations are outstanding! I enjoy them very much, although I have many books on Tantra, they seldom present Indian beliefs as well as you do. Please keep the articles coming.
A devotee of Parvati,

by Glenn Scriven on 17th Mar 2003

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"During one such sacrifice, nine spiritually charged men entered the sacrificial hall….As for Bhagavat Dharma, it is the dharma spoken by God directly from his own mouth…. Like a person eating food finds himself gratified simultaneously in three ways…. We are all constantly taught by spiritual texts to offer or dedicate all our actions to God. However, the question remains as to how to practically carry out this injunction…..The only fruit of wealth is dharma... Therefore, there is no need for the Vedas to enjoin us to these things for which we already have a tendency….The real intention of the Vedic injunctions in these matters is to make a person abstain from them…”

"She has always believed that this would redeem her of her distress….A coconut, otherwise an ordinary dried fruit or the source of edible, or at the most, beauty oil, has always been revered as an auspicious object effecting good and well-being and the food that gods most loved….The tree in the Buddhist tradition was later identified as Bodhi-tree, seated under which Buddha had attained Enlightenment….Body gestures and symptoms, signs, indications among others must have been the early man’s tools of communicating oneself and knowing and understanding the world around….Kirttimukha was initially conceived as a mystical mask….Lion does not figure in the wide range of animal toys or figurines excavated from Indus sites."

"Here is a fragment from one of the most poignant episodes of Indian history…. This piece of history is from the Mahabharata…. She was dying with shame but inside, like a true kshatrani (woman of the warrior race), she was burning with anger…. I have heard that women who follow dharma were never brought before a public court….Greed is the destroyer of dharma. I do not desire a third boon…. Draupadi was as forgiving as mother earth herself…. Just then Arjuna saw his dear friend Bhagawan Krishna approaching him…. “Leave him, leave him. He is a brahmin and worthy of our worship. Their mother should not cry, like I have at the death of my children."

"Only a certain fraction of this karma is chosen by God in order to form the blueprint of our next birth…. The fruit that one experiences in this birth is due to prarabdha and a portion of the present agami…. Similarly, a fish in the Ganga does not accrue punya because of always living in Ganga…. A good karma can be annulled by a bad karma and a bad one by a good one…. Sometimes we also hear that prarabdha cannot be got rid of. It has to be spent through…. Bhagawan Vyasa says that for the full result of the karma to manifest, three things are necessary…. Then how to understand the statement that prarabdha should unavoidably be experienced?"

"Whenever he gets the time, he should go and live amongst people who have given up worldly life…. A wise person should serve his body and family only to the extent that is functionally necessary…. The person who lays claim on the surplus wealth is nothing but a thief…. He should share all objects of enjoyment with everyone, right down to dogs, sinners…. Such is the attachment to one’s wife….How despicable is this body, which if buried is going to become the food of worms, or excreta if eaten by animals….Since a son is to thus revere his elders even after their death, what to say that he is expected to serve them when they are alive…. The person wishing to follow the path of dharma should steer clear of the five forms of Adharma."

"We assume that our happiness is the result of an interaction with external objects…. Suppose that an individual is deprived of sleep and food and pleasurable objects for a long time and then all of them are simultaneously offered to him…. Actually, seeking the answer to this question is the most significant pursuit in life…. The veil comes up again and the duality returns…. In this background, we can now analyse the nature of dukha (grief)."

"
Contrarily metaphysicians and theologians perceived his form as it manifested in the Upanishads and Puranas….The ‘Advaita’ philosophy also contends that the entire Creation is just the extension of One…. Dance illustrates one of the ever-first cosmic acts with which Shiva seems to have tamed violent motion and separated from it rhythm, moves that communicated emotions and states of mind – human mind and the cosmic, and disciplined and defined pace…. Unlike Vishnu who resorted to dance for accomplishing a contemplated objective, Shiva has been conceived more or less as a regular dancer performing for accomplishing an objective as also for pure aesthetic delight…. Unfurling locks of hair and his snakes floating into space portray the dynamics of the act."

"It concedes that for an orderly social life a division into four groups based on the principle of varnadharma is necessary…. Each individual sometimes acts in a sattvika manner while at other times he may act in rajasic or tamasic manner, which means that the manifestation of a particular guna depends on circumstances…. Though all the three gunas are present in everyone, different persons are driven to act differently…. The karma that I have to perform should depend on my inherent gunas and should have the ability to regulate these gunas…. There is no instant transition to moksha…. An individual has to make his way towards moksha only through worldly life."

"But to pull this statement out of context and give it as an advice for anyone is far from correct…. But how is one to recognise the guru? Obviously, he will be able to understand the difficulties of the disciples and clarify to them the meaning of the scriptures on the basis of logic and experience….
They will have to search in their own neighbourhood only….The guru chosen by him should be at least better than himself!…. Of course, if the ideal guru whose features have been enumerated in the beginning is available, then the sadhaka should immediately go and surrender to him…. It is just like going to another teacher for higher education, after completing the education in a school."

"Who would not satisfy his wife who is but his better half?…. Later, he took a bath, performed pranayama and meditating silently on the pure, eternal light, repeated internally the Gayatri Mantra…. Once it so happened that goddess Lakshmi was out of Vaikuntha…. Despite being older, they always maintain the appearance of five-year olds…. Seeing the great saints he welcomed them with reverence…. It is never for one single purpose but to fulfil many functions at the same time…. He ensured for them a glorious death."

"Vyasa Ji explained through a story how it came to be that the Pandava's marriage with a single wife was in conformity with dharma….The gods, along with their king Indra, were sitting on the bank of a river when they saw a beautiful golden lotus floating on its waters…. Both were playing a game of dice…. On hearing Shiva’s words, Indra started shaking with fear… Without death, the burden on the earth becomes too much…. Her birth had the sanction of all the three Gods - Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu."

"The Bhagavad Gita, while describing the qualities of a wise person says…. This verse is vividly illustrated in the story of king Rantideva occurring in the Srimad Bhagavatam…. He did not believe in hoarding, was above all attachments and was highly patient…. They were all trembling due to starvation and thirst….bowed to the dogs and their owner…. What I want is only this: That I be able to go and live in the hearts of all beings and undergo sufferings on their behalf, so that they may become free from all miseries."

"Once as he was engaged in puja, a saint came to visit him….Like a true householder attached to his family, Gajendra sported in the water with his wives, children and friends…. Understanding that his end was imminent, they all slowly withdrew, till Gajendra was left alone…. If we reflect on it calmly, we will realise that there is no house in the world where the story of Gajendra does not play out…. The one who is careful towards the end is able to reform his death….
Gajendra’s hymn of praise is one of the greatest philosophical poems in the annals of world literature."

"Actually, the one who worships Bhagwan Vishnu should get rich and the one who worships Shiva should become an avadhuta like Him…. Then he works hard again to acquire wealth. I render all his efforts futile…. However, Bhagawan Vishnu is not like that, it takes longer to please Him…. As a consequence, they later harassed the great God Himself…. On the seventh day, he bathed in the holy waters of Kedarnath and began to cut his head with an axe to offer into the fire…. The boy bowed respectfully before the demon and asked…. No one who commits sin against a great person can be safe and happy in this world."

"This middle path lies in between extreme asceticism on one side, and extreme indulgence on the other…. When standing under a Ashok tree, tired and exhausted, she raised her right hand for seeking support of a branch of the tree…. The unique balance that defined his entire life was pre-determined in this duality….One day, in the palace garden he frightened his attendants…. He ate less and less till his diet reduced to a sesame seed, and himself, to a mere skeleton…. Seven days after the attainment of enlightenment gods sent food for breaking his fast…. However, he postponed his ‘nirvana’ for three months till he visited the places he had reminiscences of."